Device for practice in receiving international semaphore code signals



July 29, 1941. w CATTANACH 2,250,466

DEVICE FOR PRACTICE IN RECEIVING INTERNATIONAL SEMAPHORE CODE SIGNALSFiled 001:. 14, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet l I INVENTOR FPEDFP/(K W. (4TTA/VACH ATTORNEY July 29, 1941. F. w. CATTANACH 2,250,466 DEVICE FORPRACTICE IN RECEIVING INTERNATIONAL SEMAPHORE CODE SIGNALS Filed Oct.14, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR FPFDiP/(A W. (mm/40 ATTORNEY y 1941'F. w. CATTANACH 2,250,466 DEVICE FOR PRACTICE IN RECEIVING INTERNATIONALSEMAPHCRE CODE SIGNALS Filed Oct. 14, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORFPEDEQ/C'K 14 [ATM/V409 ATTORNEY Patented July 29, 1941 DEVICE FORPRACTICE IN'R-ECEIVING IN- TERNATIONAL SEMABHORE CODE SIGNALS- FrederickW. Cattanach, Cranford, N. J. Application October 14, 1939,.Serial No.299,494

14 Claims.

This invention. relatesto device for practice in. receivingInternational semaphore. code signals.

object of this inventionis to provide a convenient pocket instrument forpractice in acquiring. speed and accuracy in the art of interpreting allsignal. arm positions of the International semaphore code of signals.

Aiurther object of this invention is to provide a, device of thecharacter described, having the shape of a pocket watch and having apair of semaphore flags which rotate about a common center asido thehands ot a watch, the device being provided with means to rotate thesemaphore flags to various positions to represent various letters,,thedevice being further provided with means to show the letterscorresponding to the positions of the flags in the various positionsthereof.

Yetv another object of this invention is to provide; in a device of thecharacter described, a spring pressed push button, and means to changethe position of the flags each time the push button is depressed, toenable the user to practice receiving at times when an additional signalman is not available for sending.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a compact anddurable device of the character described, which shall be relativelyinexpensive to manufacture, easy to operate, and yetpractical andefficient to a high degree in use..

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in parthereinafter pointed out.

The'invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, andarrangement of parts which will beexemplified' in the construction hereinafter described, and of which thescope of application will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown oneof the variouspossible illustrative embodiments of this invention,

Fig. l is a front elevational view of a device embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5. of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a rear elevational view of the device with the back case coverremoved;

Fig. 7 is across. sectional view taken on line.

1-1 of Fig. 3; and

Referring? now. in detail to the drawings, I0"

designatesa semaphore signal practice device of. the characterdescribed. The same comprises a.

pocket size casing H shapedsimilarly to apocket: Watch.

The. casing: ll comprises an annular member lzzformedwith a radial neckl3. at the top. Within neck: 1-3; is: a.transverse.wall l4 formed with athrough opening l5. Extending: throughv the. through opening. 15 isastem l6 provided with a fixed collar H at. its lower end. Above thetransverse: wall lid is a coil compression spring I8 surrounding the,stem, and at. the upper end of the. stem, isv a head, l9 contacted,bythe. coil; spring;

Within, the: annularmember- [2 are a pair of; fixed, spaced, parallel,annular discs 22. and 23.- interconnected by aplurality-of spacer pins24. The disc; 23 is. formed with, a central bearing" opening 25'.Journalledwithin saidbearing openingiisahub 25 carrying acam 21 at oneend, disposed: between the discs 22 and 23, and'having a.

shape to be described hereinafter.

Fixed'to the cam.2.1,.and disposed between said camandthe'disc 23'; isaratchetxan adapted to rotate-with saidcam. Pivoted tothe disc 23 is apawl. arm. 32 having; a. 1ugt33. adapted.- to be con- IG. The pawl.

tacted by the lower end of: the stem arm. is. maintained. in. contactwith they stem l6l by spring. 34.. Fixed to. the. disc 23 is apin. 35.passing: through a. slot 36 in the pawl arm, limit the angularrotationof. said pawl arm. On pawl arm 32. is apawl; 31 engaging. theteeth ofv theratchet. Each time the head 19 is. depressed, the ratchetis rotated to. a: predetermined angle.

Mountedon the hub 26, and disposed on the outer side of'the disc 23" isa plate 40 maintained onthe hub by-thehead of a-screw- 4 l screwed'intosaid'hub. The platerotates-with the cam 21 and ratchet 30. aremarkedletters 42, there'being as many letters on theplate 40- as there areteeth in the ratchet 30;

Attached to the annular-member I2 is a back' cover case which covers theplate 40. The" On the outside of the-plate 40 of semaphore signalsregulated by the position of the cam 21.

The disc 22 is formed with a central bearing opening 53 in which isjournalled a hub 51 carrying a pinion 52 at its inner end disposedbetween the disc 22 and the cam 21. On the outer end of the hub 5! thereis carried a radial semaphore signal 55 which may have the shape of asemaphore flag.

The hub 51 is formed with an axial through opening 55 and journalled insaid opening, is a shaft 51' carrying at its outer end a secondsemaphore signal 58. The shaft 5? is also journalled in an axial bore 59in the hub 26, and carries a pinion 85 of similar size to the pinin 52.

interconnecting the discs 22 and 23 are a pair of transverse pins 54 and85. Rotatably mounted on said pins are bell cranks 65 and 51. On bellcrank 65 is a segmental gear 68. lvieshin with the pinion 52 and on bellcrank 67, is a segmental gear 69 meshing with the pinion 69.

Bell crank 66 is furthermore provided withan arm 16 carrying a roller Hin engagement with the periphery of the cam 2'5. Bell crank 61 isfurthermore formed with an arm 12 carrying a roller E3 in engagementwith another portion of the peri hery of the cam 27. The rollers H and:3 are maintained in engagement with the cam by springs l5 and i8engaging the bell cranks.

It will now be understood that as the cam rotates the bell cranks 66 andB"! will be rotated about the pins 64 and 65 to in turn rotate thepinions 52 and 65 to various positions for rotating the signals 55 and58 to different positions.

The cam 27 is so shaped that in each angular position thereof, thesemaphore signals 55 and 53 are moved to predetermined relativepositions corresponding to the letter 42 on the plate 40 which may beseen through the peepsight 46. As the push button or stem [6 isdepressed, the ratchet 33 is rotated to rotate the cam, and as the camis rotated, the semaphore signals are swung to difierent relativepositions. The operator may thus depress the button, and then look atthe signals and see whether he knows the letter corresponding to theposition of the signals. He may then look through the peepsight to seewhether his interpretation of the signal is correct.

It will now be understood that the two signal arms in the form ofminiature flags turn about a common center as do the hands of a watch,and that each application of pressure on the external button or stem, soactuates the internal mechanism as to cause the two signal arms toassume the relative code positions on the dial representing a letter ofthe alphabet. Similarly repeated applications of pressure will give, oneat a time, all the flag positions required by semaphore code.

The cam disc 2'. may be replaced by other cams having different outlinesto produce different sequences of letters, and such cams may be shapedto spell out coded or spelled words or messages.

To cover the signal arms 55 and 58 there may be attached to the frontedge of the annular member 2, a bezel 82] carryin a glass plate 8|, asshown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Furthermore, a looped handle 82 may beswiveled onto the neck E3, in the manner or" a watch.

It will thus be een that there is provided a device in which the severalobjects of this invention are achieved, and which is well adapted tomeet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention,and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth,it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in theaccompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. A device of the character described, comprising a pair of signal armsrotatably mounted upon a common center, a depressible member means torotate said arms to various relative code positions upon successivelydepressing said member, and means controlled by said first means toindicate the letters of the alphabet corresponding to the variouspositions of the signal arms, said signal arms being located at thefront of the device, and the means to indicate the letters being locatedat the back of the device.

2. In a device of the character described, a ratchet, a depressiblemember, pawl means to advance the ratchet each time the depressiblemember is depressed, a cam fixed to the ratchet for rotation therewith,a pair of signal arms mounted for rotation about the center of saidratchet, a pinion on each signal arm adapted to rotate therewith, a pairof bell cranks, each having a segmental gear engaging one of thepinions, and means on said bell cranks to engage the periphery of saidcam.

3. In a device of the character described, a ratchet, a depressiblemember, pawl means to ad Vance the ratchet each time the depressiblemember is depressed, a cam fixed to the ratchet for rotation therewith,a pair of signal arms mounted for rotation about the center of saidratchet, a pinion on each signal arm adapted to rotate therewith, a pairof bell cranks, each having a segmental gear engaging one of thepinions, means on said bell cranks to engage the periphery of said cam,and spring means for retaining the cam engaging means in contact withthe periphery of said cam.

i. In a device of the character described, a ratchet, a depressiblemember, pawl means to advance the ratchet each time the depressiblemember is depressed, a cam fixed to the ratchet for rotation therewith,a pair of signal arms mounted for rotation about the center of saidratchet, a pinion on each signal arm adapted to rotate therewith, a pairof bell cranks, each having a segmental gear engaging one of thepinions, means on said bell cranks to engage the periphery of said cam,a plate fixed to said ratchet for rotation therewith, and a fixed coveron said device having an opening through which a portion of the platemay be seen.

5. A device of the character described, comprising a watch shapedcasing, a spring pressed depressible button on said casing, a pair ofsignal arms within said casing rotatable about a common axis, saidcasing being provided with a glass plate at the front of the casing,through which the signal arms may be seen, and means for rotating thesignal arms to various code positions each time the button is depressed,and means at the back of the casing controlled by the first means toindicate the code positions of said signal arms.

6. A device of the character described, comprising an annular memberformed with a radial neck, a spring pressed push button on said neck, apair of parallel transverse discs on said annular member, a ratchetrotatably mounted on one of .said discs, a pawl arm pivoted to said discand adapted to be depressed by said push button, a pawl onsaid pawl armengaging the teeth of said ratchet, a cam fixed to said ratchet, a pairof signal arms rotatably mounted about theaxis of said ratchet, and eachcarrying a pinion, said pinions being similar, a pair of bell crankspivotally mounted on and between said discs, each having an arm providedwith a roller engaging the periphery of said cam, and each having asecond arm provided with a segmental gear, said gears meshing with saidpinionsrespectively,

'7. A device of the character described, comprising an annular memberformed with a radial neck, a spring pressed push button on said neck, apair of parallel transverse discs on said annular member, a ratchetrotatably mounted on one of said discs, a pawl arm pivoted to said discand adapted to be depressed by said push button, a pawl on said pawl armengaging the teeth of said ratchet, a cam fixed to said ratchet, a pairof signal arms rotatably mounted about the axis of said ratchet, andeach carrying a pinion, said pinions being similar, a pair of bellcranks pivotally mounted on and between said discs, each having an armprovided with a roller engaging the periphery of said cam, and eachhaving a second arm provided with a segmental gear, said gears meshingwith said pinions respectively, and spring means to retain said rollersin engagement with the periphery of said cam.

8. A device of the character described, comprising an annular memberformed with a radial neck, a spring pressed push button on said neck, apair of parallel transverse discs on said annular member, a ratchetrotatably mounted on one of said discs, a pawl arm pivoted to said discand adapted to be depressed by said push button, a pawl on said pawl armengaging the teeth of said ratchet, a cam fixed to said ratchet, a pairof signal arms rotatably mounted about the axis of said ratchet, andeach carrying a pinion, said pinions being similar, a pair of bellcranks pivotally mounted on and between said discs, each having an armprovided with a roller engaging the periphery of said cam, and eachhaving a second arm provided with a segmental gear, said gears meshingwith said pinions respectively, spring means to retain said rollers inengagement with the periphery of said cam, and means to limit angularmovement of said pawl arm.

9. A device of the character described, comprising an annular memberformed with a radial neck, a spring pressed push button on said neck, apair of parallel transverse discs on said annular member, a ratchetrotatably mounted on one of said discs, a pawl arm pivoted to said discand adapted to be depressed by said push button, a pawl on said pawl armengaging the teeth of said ratchet, a cam fixed to said ratchet, a pairof signal arms rotatably mounted about the axis of said ratchet, andeach carrying a pinion, said pinions being similar, a pair of bellcranks pivotally mounted on and between said discs, each having an armprovided with a roller engaging the periphery of said cam, and eachhaving a second arm provided with a segmental gear, said gears meshingwith said pinions respectively, spring means to retain said rollers inengagement with the periphery of said cam, means to limit angularmovement of said pawl arm, and means to maintain said pawl arm inengagement with the spring pressed button.

I 10. A device of the'character described, comprising an annular memberformed with a radial neck, a spring pressedpush button on said neck, apair of parallel transverse discs on said annular member, a ratchetrotatably mounted on one of said discs, a pawl arm pivoted to said discand adapted to be depressed by said push button, a pawl on said pawl armengaging the teeth of said ratchet, a cam fixed to said ratchet, a pairof signal arms rotatably mounted about the axis of said ratchet, andeach carrying a pinion, said pinions being similar, a pair of bellcranks pivotally mounted on and between said discs, each having an armprovided with a roller engaging the periphery of said cam, and eachhaving a second arm provided with a segmental gear, said gears meshingwith said pinions respectively, spring means to retain said rollers inengagement with the periphery of said cam, means to limit angularmovement of said pawl arm, means to maintain said pawl arm in engagementwith the spring pressed button, and a plate fixed for rotation with saidratchet, and a cover attached to said annular member, and closing saidplate, said cover being formed with an opening through which a portionof said plate may be seen.

11. In a device of the character described, a ratchet, a depressiblemember, pawl means to advance the ratchet each time the depressiblemember is depressed, a cam fixed to the ratchet for rotation therewith,a pair of signal arms mounted for rotation about the center of saidratchet, a pinion on each signal arm adapted to rotate therewith, a pairof bell cranks, each having a segmental gear engaging one of thepinions, and means on said bell cranks to engage the periphery of saidcam, said pawl means comprising a link pivoted at one end on a fixedpivot, a pointed member pivoted to the other end of said link andengaging said ratchet, and said depressible member engaging said link,the pivotal point between the pointer and link being located between thefixed pivot and the point of engagement between said pointer and saidratchet, and being adapted to move toward a line connecting said fixedpivot and point of engagement, upon depressing said depressible member.

12. A device of the character described, comprising a watch shapedcasing, a spring pressed depressible button on said casing, a pair ofsignal arms within said casing rotatable about a common axis, saidcasing being provided with a glass plate at the front of the casing,through which the signal arms may be seen, means for rotating the signalarms to various code positions each time the button is depressed, andmeans at the back of the casing controlled by the first means toindicate the code positions of said signal arms, one signal arm beingmounted on a hollow shaft receiving the shaft on which the other signalarm is mounted.

13. A device of the character described, comprising an annular memberformed with a radial neck, a spring pressed push button on said neck, apair of parallel transverse discs on said annular member, a ratchetrotatably mounted on one of said discs, a pawl arm pivoted to said discand adapted to be depressed by said push button, a pawl on said pawl armengaging the teeth of said ratchet, a cam fixed to said ratchet, a pairof signal arms rotatably mounted about the axis of said ratchet, andeach carrying a pinion, said pinions being similar, a pair of bellcranks pivotally mounted on and between said discs, each having an armprovided with a roller engaging the periphery of said cam, and eachhaving a second arm provided with a segmental gear, said gears meshingwith said pinions respectively, said rollers being spaced apart about120 relative to the center of said discs.

14. A device of the character described, comprising an annular memberformed with a radial neck, a spring pressed push button on said neck, apair of parallel transverse discs on said annular member, a ratchetrotatably mounted on one of said discs, a pawl arm pivoted to said discand adapted to be depressed by said push button, a pawl on said pawl armengaging the teeth of said ratchet, a cam fixed to said ratchet, a pairof signal arms rotatably mounted about the axis of said ratchet, andeach carrying a pinion, said pinions being similar, a pair of bellcranks pivotally mounted on and between said discs, each having an armprovided with a roller engaging the periphery of said cam, and eachhaving a second arm provided with a segmental gear, said gears meshingwith said pinions respectively, and spring means to retain said rollersin engagement with the periphery of said cam, the pivotal point of thepawl on the pawl arm being adapted to move toward the center of theratchet when said push button is depressed.

FREDERICK W. CATTANACH.

